Thursday, March 8, 2012

Not-So-Anonymous Commenter

You've been writing a blog for a number of months now without issue, then suddenly you are confronted with an anonymous commenter who posts unwarranted slams against you. A techie friend helps you use the commenter's IP address to get the address of this rogue. You head to the house ready to pick a fight-but when you knock on the door, the person who answers is someone you know. Writer's Digest

"Again?" I yelled at the computer screen. "That's it!"

I punched Mike's number into the virtual keypad and put the receiver up to my ear. Mike picked up the line on the second ring.

"Sup?" He said.

"The dude is at it again. That's what's up"

"I'm on it. I'll have something by the time you get here."

I took one last look at the nasty comment on my screen and then left the room. I walked down the hall to Mike's room and knocked on the door. "Coming." Mike said from the other side. He opened the door and gestured for me to come in. "What took you so long."

I looked at his desk to see if he made any progress. There were so many computer screens that I didn't have a clue as to which one would contain any information useful to me. "There," he said pointing at a monitor labeled A3. "That's the IP address to the person who keeps trolling your blog." He hit a couple of keys on one of the keyboards and the image changed. "And that, my friend, is the physical address."

"How in the world do you do that?"

"A magician never reveals his secrets." He said this as he picked a large bottle of Mountain Dew and sucked down what was left in it. He sat back down in his chair and turned back to his screens.

"Come on. Let's go!" I said impatiently.

"I'm not one for confrontations man." He said never taking his eyes away from whichever screen he was looking at. "Go on without me. Just yell if you need me." He waved a hand in the general direction of the door.

"You little girl." I said grinning. "Thanks for the help anyway."

I stepped out into the hall, the door closing behind me. I looked left, then right, took one step forward and knocked on the door. I heard some giggling coming from the other side of the door but there was no movement. I closed my hands into fists so tight my nails started digging into my skin. I pounded on the door again. This time, I heard someone moving inside the room, then the door swung open.

"Jessica?" I said relaxing my hands.

"Who else?" She said looking at the number on her door. "I see you got my postings."

"That was you?" I answered. "I can't believe you would do something like that!"

"How else would I get you to come over?" She said smiling. "Now, just quit complaining and come on in."